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'Plain' means simple, without decoration, or a flat landscape; 'plane' is an aircraft or a flat surface.
Side-by-side comparison
"Plain" as an adjective means simple, without decoration. "Plain yogurt" = natural yogurt with no flavouring. As a noun it is a flat expanse of land.
She prefers plain coffee without milk or sugar.
In plain English, the answer is no.
The Great Plains stretch across the central United States.
"Plane" is an aircraft, but also a flat mathematical surface or the woodworking tool for smoothing wood. Three very different meanings with the same word.
Their plane lands at Heathrow at quarter past two.
The two lines meet at the same plane in geometry.
The carpenter used a plane to smooth the rough timber.
Common mistake
- •"We caught a plain to Paris" when meaning an aircraft is wrong (correct: plane).
- •"Plain" is the adjective meaning simple or undecorated, or the flat open landscape.
Trick to remember it
- •"Plane" ends with E like "engine", aircraft have engines.
- •"Plain" ends in AIN like "rain", the plains are wide open and get rain.
Quick rule
- •Is it an aircraft or a flat mathematical surface? "Plane".
- •Is it something simple or a flat landscape? "Plain".
Did you know?
"Plain English" is an active movement promoting clear, straightforward language free of jargon, especially in legal, medical, and bureaucratic documents. The UK and US governments have official plain language guidelines, and many legal documents are now required to be written in plain English. The UK's "Plain English Campaign," active since 1979, awards annual "Golden Bull" prizes for the most unnecessarily complicated language and "Crystal Mark" awards for the clearest.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
They flew by _____ from Madrid to London. It was only a two-hour flight.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She likes her coffee _____ , with no sugar or milk.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy